Learning about the water situation in Ghana
Can you think of one reason why an African sixth grader
would drop out of school?
One simple reason is because of 'water insecurity'. Many
children in developing countries such as Ghana drop out of school
not only because of water scarcity, but because they lack access to
clean water.
With a population of 24 million, half of Ghana's population is
living under impoverished conditions.
One third of rural populations lack access to safe drinking
water, and only 11% have adequate sanitation.
One in ten Ghanaian children is dying before their fifth
birthday mainly due to malaria and diarrhoea.
The majority of diarrhoea deaths are due
to a lack of access to sanitation facilities coupled with
inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking
water.
Supporting clean water for students:
Action on the ground
To address this issue, Green Cross International has
developed
the Smart Water for Green Schools project.
Our office in Ghana is working with local communities to provide
solutions to help secure access to clean water for schools in the
Ghana Volta river basin using a smart and simple rainwater
harvesting system.
Rainwater harvesting systems provide a cost effective way
to
capture rainwater.
Our team builds a basic catchment system on school rooftops that
channels rainwater into an overhead or underground storage
tank.
School children, teachers and 
community members are trained to monitor, treat and
use the captured water, encouraging personal and communal interest
in the management of the system.
The team builds ecological latrines that provide healthy
sanitation for schools.
Green Cross' water conservation and hygiene education program
helps kids and teachers from different schools in nearby villages
to build their understanding of environmentally friendly, healthy
solutions to pressing challenges.
Expected Results
- Access to safe water through rainwater harvest system and
sanitation through ecological latrines
- Peaceful bridges between local villages through green school
programs and environmental values
- Improved health and hygiene - and improved school enrolment as
parents understand the benefits
- Developed capacity of local community who are empowered to be
able to help themselves
- Enhanced student and community knowledge and understanding of
environmental issues.
How donations raised by Australian Green Lane Diary
School's can make a difference:
1. Cost of quarry stones used in the rainwater
harvest system = $381
2. The sand needed to mix cement for the large
water tank = $445
3. Roofing sheets for ecological latrines =
$300
4. Stones used to build ecological latrines =
$381
5. One third of the cost of educational
materials for training and environmental outreach = $1,450
6. The total project budget for one Ghana Green
school is $25,210
Download the detailed budget for the Clean
Water for Green Schools project.
Background on the schools that your donations
will benefit
The Dawu Methodist Primary and Junior High School selected to
benefit from the Smart Water for Green Schools initiative is
located at Abiriw/Dawu village within the Akwapim North District.
The Akwapim District is found in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Water
coverage for the district is 29% with sanitation coverage standing
at 32%. Both the school and the community do not have access to
safe water and sanitation, recording a 0% water and sanitation
coverage for the village. The total population of school kids of
the selected school is 589, with a teacher population of 11. There
are a total of 2363 people living in the Abiri/Dawu village.
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Getting Involved
You, your classmates, teachers,
schools, families and community can help the Smart Water
for Green Schools in Ghana! Here are some fun ideas for
fundraising:
- Hold a white elephant store at lunchtime (have
the students collect, sort and price the materials) - it's trash
and treasure!
- Run a school wide Nude Food Lunch and charge a
gold coin to dress all in green
- Hold a lunchtime movie (watch Happy Feet or
Wall-e) with popcorn and charge a gold coin for entry
- Rubbish fine - impose a 20c fine for those who
litter
- Chalk drawing lunchtime - charge a gold coin
to participate and fill the bitumen with beautiful artwork.
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Interested in running a fundraising event for
Ghana?
Contact Green Cross
Australia if you are running a fundraising activity for Ghana in
your school.
We will send supporting information to make sure it's easy
for you to transfer funds so we can forward all donations to our
office in Ghana - even small amounts can go a long way!
